Certification carved pendant

The last post on my certification projects is the carved pendant. I really like this pendant and the process used to create it. In fact I taught this process in a class tonight.

I call this a double carved pendant. The first carving is done in an eraser (in class we used the easy carve block) to create a mold. After pressing PMC Standard clay into the mold, drying and sanding the piece, we carved directly into the dried clay. Since Standard clay shrinks 30% the design can be considerably bigger which makes it easy to work on. After firing, the design is sharper. Standard clay carves like butter. (PMC+ and PMC3 can also be carved but they are more difficult to carve.)

The front design was a requirement. We all carved the same design but the back was a design of our own choosing.

I had my students work up a design of their own before beginning the piece. In some ways I think this was the hardest part for them. Although, carving does take a little practice.

Oh and by the way I got my tetrahedron back from Tim today. I worried for nothing. He sent a nice little note about it.

Certification Saucer bead

Just a couple more certification projects to cover.

This post is about the saucer bead (which I know as a lentil bead.) They are easy (and fun) to make. The only difference between what we did in class and what I normally do is the way the edges were treated. My edges are normally a little rounded. In class we were going for a sharp knife edge which was created by sanding from the center down to the edge. Guess it is this sharp edge that gives it the saucer name.

These were decorated to our liking. I decorated the top with an organic design created with the syringe. For some reason I like to sand the syringe work to give it a flatter finish. (Do this a lot.) I carved the back of the piece (but am not happy with it.)

I'm still trying to figure out why my jewelry is mostly organic. Mission style is my taste in furniture. Seems like a contradiction.

Got It!!!

I sent my tetrahedron to Tim last week. Today I got an email from Rio Grande saying that Tim had emailed to tell them that I had completed all my projects. So.... now I am officially certified through Rio Grande. Yahoo!!

Now, on to my next goal of getting Level 3 Certification from PMC Connection. (One thing at a time though.) I've got to get a display set up at the YWCA first, get through Oil Heritage Week, and get my set up ready to be artist of the month at the Transit Gallery.

But first I need to get back into the studio and get busy. Haven't been there much lately. Time to change that.

The other ring

The other ring we made in the Rio Certification class was also sized without the use of a ring mandrel or ring gauge. We used the same neat mathematical formula even though this ring was made flat and bent after firing.

The construction method of this ring was difficult as the signet containing the stone was fired separately and added after the ring band was bent. The objective of this piece was to learn ring sizing, bending metal clay, setting a stone and double firing.

Usually double firing isn't difficult. Just paste the two fired pieces together with lavender oil paste (which I mentioned in an earlier post) and re-fire.

What made this piece a problem was that the amount of contact area between the signet and the ring band was minimal. I filed and filed the open ends of the ring band and could not for the life of me get them level. There was always a curve to the end which Tim told us happens because we have elbows and tend to file in an arc. So, when I inserted the (somewhat) square signet into the opening between the ends of the band there wasn't a lot of contact area. The ring fired intact, but when it was put on a ring mandrel and hammered to get a better curve, it broke at the seam.

Now I need to repair it. When I do, I'll put some kind of design between the band and the signet that gives more contact to the pasted problem.

Originally this project had the signet sitting on top of the band, which gave more contact area to the pasted joint. Doing the ring this way, made the signet stick up considerably and that is why the design was changed. I think I would have liked the other design better, (both in looks and ease of creating.) But, it was what it was.

Aura 22

ACS Gold and Aura 22 are gold pastes that are used to add a touch of gold to the silver. (This saves "lots" of money. Gold ain't cheap.)

We were required to make two rings for Rio Grande's Certification class. Both rings were made without the use of a ring sizer or a ring mandrel. (I just could not imagine it. But it was possible and the method was really cool. There I go again showing my age. ) They fit perfectly!

I am use to forming my rings over a ring mandrel, so I fussed somewhat about making it without one. (Once again I had to remind myself that things are easily corrected after the piece is dry and in this case fired. You would think I could remember that after all this time.)

One of the rings was made as a round band and was decorated with PMC sheet clay which was painted with Aura 22.

We torch fired this ring (something else which I have never done. I always thought rings required the use of a kiln.) After firing, we painted two coats of Aura 22 on it and torched it again until the piece turned orange. (If over-fired, the gold can be absorbed by the silver.) I had to re-fire mine three times as the gold kept popping off. (But I got a little gold on the edge and do you think it will pop off. NO...... even though I've tried to scratch it off.)

I've been wearing my ring and have lost two pieces of gold so far. I do expect it to all fall off eventually. (Know this from experience as I made a similar piece for my husband a couple of years ago. This ring has sheet clay rimming the edges and circles of sheet on top.)

In my PMC Connection Level 2 class we used gold clay and made our own paste. Then we torched it for five minutes (that's a long time to hold a torch!) I used my piece as a charm on my charm bracelet and it has not popped off yet (over a year later and after all the bumping around a charm takes.)

I'm not sure what this means. I'll have to try the homemade gold paste on a ring. (But first I have to find some money to pay for the gold clay.) That will take a while! Maybe it's the sheet clay that's the problem.

Gone fishing!

PMC standard has to be fired at 1650 degrees for two hours; nothing less. It also has a 30% shrinkage rate and is the weakest of all the PMC clays.

The high shrinkage rate is nice because a design can be created large and shrunk to a smaller size while keeping all the detail.

If PMC + or PMC3 is applied on top of PMC Standard the piece will curve. I have used this technique in the past with the syringe clay and knew it could be used with the paper clay.

In the Rio Certification class we wove the sheet clay before applying it to PMC Standard. It was best to keep the shapes simple as the curve could distort the shape, so I cut a long oval in half.

I really do like the earrings that I made using this technique but when I look in the mirror they remind me of anchovies or smelt. I think it is the patina that reminds me of that. To my daughter they looked like crescent shaped cookies dusted with powdered sugar. (I think she was hungry. I don't like fish, so I know it has nothing to do with me being hungry!)

Certification Pen

Another certification project was making a pen with a cap that unscrews.

Imbedding a screw into the pen and the cap was a very interesting technique with lots of possibilities.

As with all my other projects, I didn't focus on design.... just learning the technique. So the focus of my pen was texture.

It really was an easy project, although I thought it would be difficult. (For me the rings were the most difficult, which really floored me as I make rings all the time...... although not without some learning experiences.)

Again this was a project I wasn't sure I was going to like, but I think I do. I'll let you know after I've used the pen for a while (and I am going to use it.) The silver pen is thin and I tend to like thicker barreled pens. I use to have my students make polymer clay pens which I still use to this day. They are much thicker and to me are more comfortable. (Plus they are a lot of fun to make!)

Both the tetrahedron and the pen were teaching techniques that I did not learn in my PMC Connection Certification. (But those classes taught me other techniques that were not taught in the Rio Class.)

Another little trick I learned was that the ink pen can be cut without ink leaking all over the place. (I was really a little worried about that one, but it works.) The mess comes when cleaning out the cut end a little to make room for air to help push the ink through. (At least I think that's why we cleaned out the end. Darn.... why didn't I take physics? Actually I don't care that I didn't take chemistry or physics.)

3 hours too short

As mentioned in the previous post, I took the Rio Grande Certification class this past weekend.

Right from the start Tim McCreight said it was not a race and it was okay to finish up after the class was over. I took that to heart.

I decided not to try to get everything done and stress myself out. So, I didn't push myself to get my tetrahedron finished. (Which I regretted every time we cheered for someone who did complete them all in the alloted time.) But, that was my choice.

I have Level I and II Certification through PMC Connection. It is amazing how different Rio's class is. Both programs are valuable and both teach similar but different things. I'm glad I've taken them both.

We had seven projects to complete. In the next several posts, I'll share my thoughts on all of them. This post deals with the tetrahedron which I'm still working on (all the other projects are done.)

The tetrahedron is "the dreaded" project (which is why I chose to postpone it..... silly me!) We had to make our form out of isosceles triangles and it really wasn't that difficult. The part that most people dread is giving it a mirror finish.

Half of the tetrahedrons warped during the firing process (and of course mine was one of them.) The warping lead to hammering it back into shape and lots of filing to even the planes before we could start the polishing process.

Since I brought the piece home I had to go buy a big metal file (which I've needed for a long time now.) So, in that sense waiting to finish it was a plus.

As I've been polishing the piece, I realize how strong the form is.

On the down side of bringing the piece home, I feel like it will be scrutinized more closely when I send it to Tim. Just when I think I've got it highly polished, I see fine scratches. Maybe everyones else's pieces had these fine scratches too. I don't know. In the quick review at the end of the class they may have been overlooked.

My piece does reflect images like a mirror. So, in that sense I've achieved my mirror finish. To complete this piece it needs to have a pin back soldered on it. That, I am comfortable with.

Rio Grande Certification

Tomorrow I'm off to do the Rio Grande Certification class with Tim McCreight. Yahoo!! I tried to take the class in January but it filled up so fast that I missed the cut. But now I have something to look forward too (and lots of pictures to share.)

I already have Certification I and II with PMC Connection. (Level III and IV are in my future plans too. I just love being a student.)

Both companies teach their certification classes differently. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rio's style and I get the head guru as a teacher too. Can't get any better than that.

I was rereading my information last night and was glad to hear that Rio's classes stress technical skill and not design. That is somewhat of a relief as I tend to (and I know others do this too) stress over whether my piece is a "good design." (Now I just have to keep reminding myself of this.)

The photos: How I finished the broken ring top and the view from the deck at our camper on Lake Erie (where I find beach glass.)